If you’re nervous about investing in the stock market, you’re not alone. Stock ownership in the U.S. is down and frightening memories of the last bear market may be to blame. According to a Gallup survey, just 54 percent of U.S. adults own stocks, including those owned through mutual funds that people invest in via […]
Investing is arguably the most complicated and intimidating aspect of managing money. That’s one reason why target-date mutual funds have become so popular. Such funds, offered by many mutual fund companies, handle some of the most important investment tasks for you. They are now the default choice in many workplace retirement plans. But is using […]
Investing is arguably the most complicated and intimidating part of money management. And days like yesterday don’t make it seem any easier! To invest successfully, it’s important to control what you can and let go of the rest. Consider your answers to the following questions, each one of which focuses on a key investing factor […]
A weekly roundup of some of the best personal finance articles from around the web. Your fall home maintenance checklist: 7 tasks to tackle before temperatures dip (Realtor.com). Summer ends this weekend. Here’s how to get your house ready for the colder days ahead. These 401(k) funds took a beating in 2008 — and it could […]
In general, I believe there’s more to like about target-date funds than dislike. However, several recent articles have taken such funds to task. Let’s see if the criticisms are warranted. A little background Target-date funds greatly simply the process of choosing an appropriate mutual fund, getting the important asset allocation process mostly right and automating […]
Criticizing 401(k) plans has become a cottage industry. With great regularity, financial writers still complain about the loss of traditional pensions and say it’s asking far too much to expect people to be able to figure out how much to contribute and what investments to choose. The most recent example is an LA Times article […]
Investing is arguably the most challenging and intimidating topic within personal finance. There’s a lot to know and the terminology can be confusing. To lower the fear factor and cut through the confusion, here are some of the investing essentials. Get In The Game There’s a financial force in the world so powerful that Einstein […]
The last couple of posts have dealt with investing – arguably the most challenging aspect of personal finance. We talked about the importance of starting an investment program as soon as possible in order to take advantage of the amazing power of compound interest. And we talked about the fact that asset allocation is more […]
